straight up not respecting some of the alleged p2 characters' ages as they were given on the VA's papers bc you're telling me this is a 27yo man on the left & a 35(!)yo woman on the right? you jest. this woman is in her 20s at most. she doesn't have a wrinkle of age on her face. just worry. i know men age like milk this is taking the piss. i know patho 2 is the "hot blemishless 20something white(-passing) women" game but at this point own it. don't try lying to me. she doesn't look a day past 29. got friends below 25 with more winkles. in the first half of the 20th century too. where would she be getting her anti-aging serums.

you're telling me this woman who's a chronic worrier, dealing with chronic pain, who smokes like a locomotive to cope is allegedly 5 years Older than this guy who's been drinking himself to sleep for like 5 years.

(mike's mic voice) don't piss me off

Compilation of Various Changeling Headcanons of Mine

Been a while since I last wrote a massive list of hc's I have for a character, but I've been feeling bad for the lack of Patho content I’ve been sharing and want an excuse to talk about our beloved Clara the Changeling 🐀✨

Some spoilers for two of Pathologic Classic's endings are included in these, I should mention. Otherwise, enjoy!

Clara is a demisexual lesbian. I don’t need to do an in-depth detailed analysis to prove it, I just… know it!

She’s also neurodivergent, but in a way that makes it hard to give her a proper diagnosis. Really it’s most likely that she has overlapping disorders (adhd, bpd, autism) mixed in with others exclusive to those who’ve spawned from the Earth.

I’ve discussed this in another post once, but Clara’s biggest fear is her own body. A combination of knowing she was born from the clay and bones of the Earth combined with the truth about the world itself has given her a dreadful insight on how fundamentally different her physiology is from the other humans in the Town. Oftentimes she’ll feel different textures than what her skin and hair is supposed to feel like, and will need to stop what she’s doing and convince her mind that she’s real before the right textures return to her senses.

Is a tactile learner, and often prefers to show affection via touch (ex: patting one on the shoulder/back, holding hands, hugging, etc.)

The stress of her journey made her shed many tears, but now she’s become embarrassed about it. She’ll do everything in her power not to cry in front of others if she’s ever upset, simply saving it until she’s buried herself under some bed sheets or finds a lonely alley to cry her sorrows away.

That being said, if someone she cares about did find her sobbing and wanted to comfort her, she would throw herself into their arms and take in their compassion like a flea to fresh blood!

Clara was born with an innate understanding for very adult concepts and philosophies despite having the body and mind of a teenager. However, she finds herself preferring the conversations she has with the Town’s kids compared to the adults. 

For example, with Sticky and Murky she can assuredly engage in a long, thoughtful debate on the mystical qualities and immaterial essence of life held within some nuts they found lying the dirt, while with the Bachelor and Haruspex she needed to slowly and carefully explain to them why it’s wrong for adult men their age to bully a teenage girl.

I have many complex feelings on her bond with Alexander Block, but I do believe that after her meeting with The Powers That Be she chooses not to accompany Block on the front lines. Even if she wants to leave, she knows more than anyone that this world only exists within the confines of its setting, and thus she can only live within the space created for her and the others. Perhaps Block can leave, but just as she says to him in her ending, "You came out of thin air and you'll pass into nothingness."

She still sees the Albino as her brother, and will often times travel deep into the steppe to visit him.

Once the plague is quelled Clara eventually begins to form a new family unit by being communally raised; essentially moving about at her own leisure between the residences of the members of her bound most patient with her (Yulia, Rubin, Lara, and even Bad Grief on some occasions) as well as Daniil and Artemy, who are both willing to put their past quarreling behind them. Presuming the Termite Ending was picked, of course!

The Saburovs remain unwilling to accept the future granted to the Termites, and Katarina in particular still believes that Clara is her proper heir and has tried to reach out and bring her back into their care to start over. She avoids them like the plague, still not ready to forgive them for abandoning her.

If the Humble Ending was picked, then she lives all by herself in the Rod, with only the consistent company of her two surviving humbles and the Bachelor and Haruspex; the three having ended their feuding after learning the shared knowledge of being dolls, yet still haven't fully recovered from the trauma of it all. She sends letters to Commander Block hoping to hear about what the outside world is truly like, even if all he can tell her are what battles lay on the front lines, and is trying to defy her fated rivalry against Maria and Capella by trying to form an alliance, perhaps even a friendship, with them to ensure a good future for the Town.

Capella is the only one willing to tolerate her presence at the moment, yet is still uneasy about this new future the Changeling has created…

While Clara always preaches about her fierce understanding of the divine powers of love, she genuinely does not understand the concept of being loved herself. Thanks to her hasty upbringing in a cult, she assumes that it is something like a commodity: needing to be earned by successfully completing tasks, and being instantly lost if she fails said tasks. The reason her mood nosedives into dramatic self-loathing whenever she angers/fails the people she cares about is because she believes that they now no longer love her as much as they used to.

Okay those last few points were pretty depressing, let me lighten it up a bit. Clara and Grace often have fun sleepovers in the cemetery together! Or at least what weird teenage girls closely connected to death find fun, like communicating with the dead and expressing their feelings toward one another in a series of flowery, cryptic riddles :)

I can totally see her owning pet rats! They’ll cling to her scarf and ride her like a taxi as she walks throughout town, freaking out every adult she passes.

Going back once more to her complex feelings about her own body, Clara also feels just as strange about her gender. She knows her anatomy isn’t built the same way “normal” girls’ are, despite taking the form of one. Often she feared that those who knew of her unnatural birth secretly saw her as an inhuman monstrosity, let alone those who haven’t found out yet. But eventually, with the support of those closest to her, she learns that humans inherently do not fit into the neat, fantastical boxes of cis heteronormalcy and slowly embraces her unique form of girlhood, and perhaps may start experimenting with using other pronouns too.

We have a new citizen in Mount Phoenix:

          Alexander Garin, a 33 year old son of Hundun.           He is a shop clerk at Jinxxed.

FC NAME/GROUP: Lee Gikwang/Highlight CHARACTER NAME: Alexander “Sasha” Garin AGE/DATE OF BIRTH: 30th March 1990 (33) PLACE OF BIRTH:  Arsenyev, Primorsky Krai, Russia OCCUPATION: Shop Clerk at Jinxxed DEFINING FEATURES: A stitch mark at the nape of his neck; several tattoos—some looking much more professional than others.

PERSONALITY: Alex—also often endearingly called ‘Sanya’, ‘Sasha’ or ‘Shurik’ by his siblings—is chaotic by nature and good-natured despite his upbringing. Considered to be the mood maker of his family, he feels happiest when he gets to cheer people up. He is loud, outgoing and typically the life of the party. Though, due to his naive nature, he tends to be rather clueless when it comes to reading the room, which has gotten him into rather precarious situations.  

HISTORY:  Alexander doesn’t know much about his biological mother and at some point, he stopped caring to find out. The limited information he’s gotten from the orphanage was that she was a young woman who couldn’t afford to raise him. Not in the monetary sense; according to the worker he talked to, his mother was loaded and came from old money. But in the sense that she did not have the desire to give up on traveling the world or taint her reputation to take care of a bastard child. A shame really.

However, Alex didn’t feel bad about cutting her out of his thoughts, and even the anger about what could’ve been dissipated rather quickly with the unintentional help of his adoptive siblings. At least he had them. Nine of them, to be exact. And although their adoptive guardians did everything in their power to make their life as miserable as possible, he still felt content whenever he was around his four brothers and five sisters. 

Maybe he was just some stupid. Too naive to get overly mad about their living situation. Or maybe he was just content with even the smallest amount of hope for a better tomorrow for all of them. He had to watch his older brothers bleed from labor and give one of his younger brothers stitches for wounds inflicted by those who were legally supposed to protect them. On late nights, he could hear faint sobbing and consoling whispers from his sisters’ room—the threat of being married off in exchange for an animal or some feed looming over their head. Of course he didn’t like living there—none of them did—but at least they had each other. Something neither their parents nor teachers or folks from the village could ever take from them.

Well, that is, until one of them did. 

Despite all the cruelty their parents put them through, their actions still shocked them. He must’ve been in his late teens when ten suddenly became nine. When Yulia was taken.

Then there were nine.

A new type of chaos was born inside of him; not the type he became so accustomed to but a fresh and more deranged kind. Thirsty for havoc. Because it was only when he was engulfed in complete and utter bedlam that he finally felt at peace. With constant parties inside their home—as well as outside whenever he managed to sneak out—Alexander often reveled in the daily chaos, allowing him to cheer his siblings up as often as he could. 

The month before their parents finally passed, the disarray, and their sleepless nights might’ve just been the most productive he’s ever been in his life. At the time, he didn’t know what caused their insomnia, but something inside him told him that it would be fatal. Lucky for all of them, it was. He was the first one to find out about the actual cause of their deaths—Maxim, barely an adult yet already a silent murderer. 

Then there were eight. 

If the chaotic time of their parents’ misery was the most productive and alive he felt, the quiet months after his brother’s departure might’ve been the most draining. Alex constantly felt like something was missing, something he couldn’t properly name. Bouts of energy depleted as quickly as they came, and he tried to supplement the clutter in his head with parties and anything that would get adrenaline rushing through his veins. It wasn’t until the quiet boredom started to stress him out enough for him to accidentally set off a power he didn’t know he had. 

Pacing around in their parents’ old room as to not wake the brothers he shared a room with, Alexander unintentionally brought upon chaos by animating multiple dormant items in the room. Bedsheets folded in on themselves without any help and started to roll off the bed. A sock that fell behind the nightstand crawled across the floor. The lamp on the ceiling started swinging wildly despite the absence of cause. For a moment he wondered if the house might be haunted or if he might be dreaming. But when he tried to animate a shovel the very next day and watched it roll around on even ground, he knew it was his own doing. 

He knew right then and there that he wanted to learn more. And judging by the information his brother provided, he might just found the best place to do it. After settling everything and explaining the situation to his family, Alex finally made the decision to follow the path he was meant to take. He wanted to learn more. He had to still his hunger for chaos. He needed to go to Mount Phoenix. 

And so, he left.

Then there were seven.

PANTHEON:  Chinese CHILD OF:  Hundun POWERS: Alex feels energized and empowered in chaos—or more specifically, chaotic situations. Although he never noticed, but he can and already did instill distrust in others. He did, however, notice that he can animate inanimate objects for a short period of time. 

STRENGTHS: charismatic, easy-going and a fast learner WEAKNESSES: petty, naive and holds grudges forever

Full Name: Lady Evelyn Andoré Valentis Trevelyan of Ostwick

Preferred Name: Evelyn

Aliases: “Lina Taysel” (scholar/businesswoman); “Ianna [of Ostwick]” (when disguising as a commoner or traveling on an assumed name); “Yulia” (when dealing with her mom’s shadow network later on)

Nickname: Eva; Evie

Age: 17

Birthplace: Ostwick

Social Class: Noble

Noble House: House Trevelyan - Main Family (Second Household)

Religion: Andrastian Chantry

Religious Sect: Divine Justinia V faction

Personality: INTJ

Archetype: The Father’s Daughter

Conflict: Evelyn’s conflict lies with her fear that she will be betrayed again by her supposed “Inner Circle” in her past life. THat is why she help Max succeed even if she has to play devil’s advocate to Max’s ideals as she think Maxwell can be quite naive to how dark a person can be when faced with enough danger or reason. Even though she was 17, she already faced a lot of problems no lady deserve to face. She is slow to trust because of her experiences in the past and also as to how the wind is blowing in Ostwick politics. Though she know her family loves her for now, she is not sure if in the future her siblings or cousins won’t turn on her, as they were also partly responsible of her ruin in the first timeline.

Twist: Evelyn was not betrayed by her friends’ choice and the reason was not because she is ruthless and calculating…Corypheus actually used a portion of his magic to make her inner circle and whom she call her family and friends to see her in a very negative light and kill her as his final revenge and change their perception of her (this will be hinted on one of the main storyline) thus she was put into trial for execution after DAI main quest in which Divine Victoria (Leliana) had created an exalted council fast with the three Orlesian leaders to deal with Evelyn’s growing power thinking a ruthless inquisitor such as she could undo their efforts. Interestingly, her allies did nothing to refute her. House Trevelyan withdrew their support for her thanks to Julian, her third eldest brother who conspired with Hardened!Leliana bc he covets Evelyn’s shadow network and its assets after

In fact, there will be a storyline in which a scene will be played in which what remains of the inqusition has disbanded and Cullen had a sense of regret killing her…the inner circle noticed that after she died as if an invisible veil was pulled from their eyes a veil that sees her as a cold ruthless leader that needs to be put down…and now they slowly remember what her accomplishments and how she had stopped a great evil from destrying the world…and they kill her just like that in fear of her losing control what never happened? For the sake of the nobles she had to trample? For the people she had to sacrifice?

Cullen thinks these were not fair and so does many people who knew her and felt shame. One by one the inqusition forces resigned in the aftermath and soon the inquisition disbanded. Cullen embarks on a quest what actually happened to the inquisition after Cory died and he suspected that there was some magic at work. What remains of inner circle discovered that Cory indeed cursed them into seeing Evelyn in a negative light and had killed her due to their paranoia, interstingly, this wouldn’t have happened if they ever see her as their ally and friend to begin with, which also indicate Evelyn was not well-liked even before the curse by the inner circle….this was the last straw for most of them as they decided that the last thing they did as an organization was to erect a monument in her honor to venerate her achievements at least on the annals of history, even though the rest of the masses will forever see her as a cold, calculating leader who had also ended many lives for the sake of a goal. Were they worth it? Was she right about everything? Scholars would debate on and on about this endlessly. The Inner Circle disbanded never to unite ever again in their regret. Cullen decided to stop by on her statue to give flowers and to shoo away children who vandalized her statue. Cullen saw something in the horizon and left…Weeks later,

hey for the prompts thing, maybe artemy's children and daniil? Also if you wanna stretch your utopian characters writing muscles, something with peter and grace(artemy helping him parent her, since the man was ready to feed her worms)? eva and daniil in the friendship way?? idk, something of that sort. I love your work, you have a delightful grasp of the characters and the english language itself

this isn't my best bc i've just been practicing writing to keep that skill strong, but i decided to do a little of all three :)

-----

“Please, Eva, you have to help me.”

Eva tilts her head at Daniil, her long blonde hair cascading over her shoulder. Daniil knows she’s not that dense; it’s not the with what question, but the why. “Really, Daniil. I think you have a handle on things as it is.”

He absolutely does not have a handle on things. He is in way out of his depth. Over his head. However the saying goes - what’s been expected is far beyond him. Cats, he can watch over easily. They’re mostly self-sufficient, independent, but children? Daniil does not know the first thing about children.

“Humor me, then,” he says. Eva ducks her head, struggling to hide a smile. “Pretend for a moment that I don’t have a handle on things. How am I meant to keep children entertained?”

“Ah, I would think you would remember what it was like to be a child!” Daniil only scowls at the floor, shuffling his feet. “You remember how you wanted to be treated, don’t you? It’s not that different from now. You treat them with respect.”

“I know how to talk to children,” he says, and hopes he isn’t lying, “but how do I keep them entertained?”

“It’s only for a few hours. I think you’re worrying over nothing.” Daniil looks over his shoulder. They’re already seated at Eva’s piano, fingers toying with the keys. Every once in a while they will make contact, a soft plonk as a flat note plays in the open space, accompanied by a giggle. “Besides, Artemy left you in charge, not me. He trusts you.”

“He trusts everyone.” It sounds like more of a complaint than it’s really meant. The haruspex’s undying faith in others is admirable, really. Burakh’s favor is probably the only thing that’s kept the town’s inhabitants from running Daniil out into the steppe. But in this one occasion, that faith seems misplaced. “I should have said no.”

“So why didn’t you?”

Daniil has no answer. Or at least, he has no good answer. Judging by the smile creeping its way onto her face, Eva knows the only one he has. He tries to fan away her concern, and is met with her soft laughter, like the tinkling of glass. “Anyway, I’d feel much safer if you were here to help me.”

“Safer? Daniil, they’re just kids. You’ve done much more dangerous things in the time you’ve been here.” Daniil purses his lips, and Eva sighs. “I’ll help you, on one condition!”

“Name it.”

“Yulia.” Eva huffs, fiddling with her gloves. “I’ve invited her over to dinner, but she hasn’t sent her response. I think she’s nervous about seeing the Stamatins again - tell her they won’t be coming if it makes her so upset! Whatever you have to say, just make sure she agrees. I’ve been dying to see her.”

Much as he’d rather not get involved in anyone else’s affairs, he is sort of desperate here. Yulia can be difficult to convince when her mind is made up on something - impossible, even, he’d say - but he knows how fond the two women are of each other, and maybe his assurance that Andrey will be otherwise occupied will be enough. And really, all he has to do is try. “Fine,” he says, and Eva squeezes his arm in excitement before turning to the kids in the sitting room.

“I see you’ve found the piano. Would you like me to teach you a few scales?”

-

When Artemy agreed to help Peter prepare for Grace’s visit, he had no idea what it was he was signing up for. He’d thought an hour or so - enough time to leave his kids with Daniil and see how they fared together without overwhelming the other man. But it’s been two and a half hours now, and Peter doesn’t seem to be any closer to grasping the basics.

“You need milk, Peter. And eggs. Basic food items.” He stops just short of asking if the man is even aware of what constitutes food. He can’t be certain that the man even eats. He’s malnourished for someone of his height, and from what Artemy can tell his main consumption is twyrine. And that won’t be good for poor Grace.

That’s the main reason Artemy’s stayed so long. He wants to get back to his kids, to spend time with Daniil before the man returns to his work, but he worries about how Grace will fare here when Peter can’t seem to grasp the importance of a clean cooking surface and fresh ingredients. “Forgive me, old boy. It’s been so long since I have sought these things out for myself.”

Artemy tries not to groan. That’s about what he’d figured, and it’s not exactly what he’d call promising.

At least the apartment is looking marginally nicer. There’s space enough for them to walk around in, the empty bottles of twyrine have been discarded and the couch has been cleared of its debris. It’s not much, but it’s a start, and Artemy can appreciate how difficult even this was for the architect.

But it’s still not quite enough. Grace will be over within the hour, and Artemy’s not sure how much more help he can be to the man.

Before he can suggest they hold Grace’s visit off another day, a knock comes at the door and the girl herself enters. She doesn’t look quite sure of herself, her fists curled tight around the fabric of her dress, her eyes cast down; but she enters all the same, and stands just outside the door, waiting.

Artemy is the first to address her. “Grace.” He nudges Peter with his foot under the table. “It’s good to see you.”

Peter looks at Artemy, solemn, and follows his lead. “Welcome, girl.” There’s an awkward pause, and Artemy kicks his shin again. Peter stares at the table. “Come in from the door. There’s room for you by the couch.”

Grace smiles shyly and tucks her hands behind her back as she enters. Her eyes widen, taking in the apartment as if seeing it for the first time. And since Peter doesn’t seem to clean regularly, she very well could be.

“What happened to your paintings?” she asks, her voice quiet.

“I’ve moved them.” Artemy is preparing himself to nudge Peter once again, but this is something he’s more well-acquainted with. He’s slow to stand, one hand on the table to steady himself, and makes his way to what passes for a bedspace in this loft. Artemy watches from the table, chewing his lip, as Peter presents a painting to her.

At least it’s one of the more appropriate ones, though there’s something frightening about the splashes of paint. He’s no art critic, and he won’t pretend to understand, but there’s something very angry about this painting. Artemy wonders how obvious it is to Grace, who hasn’t seen much outside of the graveyard. He can’t imagine there’s much experimental art in the Saburov’s house.

A sudden pang hits him, watching the two interact. He may be frustrated with Peter, but it’s obvious the man is trying his hardest. It’s just been too long since he’s even taken care of himself, that of course it will take a while before he’s able to take care of another person. And Grace has such different needs that Artemy’s unsure the Saburovs will be able to meet. The way they talk to each other, he can sense an understanding between them, even when they’re not talking about exactly the same thing.

He’s going to wind up regretting this, for sure. He didn’t mean to leave his kids with Daniil for so long, but he can’t just give up here.

“It’s about time for lunch,” Artemy says. The two turn to look at him with matching looks of surprise. “Why don’t I show you how to cook something?”

-

Artemy dropped his children off around ten. Daniil expected him back around noon. He doesn’t mind making food for the children, except - well, he’s not the one doing it. Eva caught him attempting to make some excuses to head into the kitchen and beat him to it. “Don’t worry about it,” she said, with a look in her eyes Daniil found almost threatening, “I can handle it. You stay in here and get acquainted.”

“We’re already acquainted,” Daniil pointed out, but it didn’t matter much. Eva was determined to ignore him, making her way out of the room and leaving Daniil with two bored kids.

Murky had moved on from the piano some time ago, laying on the floor with charcoals and sketch paper Peter had left out the last time he’d come to visit. She didn’t ask for permission, but if Eva wasn’t going to tell her off then neither was Daniil. He can’t imagine Peter minding much or even remembering he’d brought the items with him, and as long as it’s keeping the girl occupied Daniil doesn’t have it in him to complain. Sticky, on the other hand, has taken to snooping around the house.

“Looking for something?” Daniil asks, watching him open up an end table drawer.

Sticky shrugs. “Not particularly.” He closes the drawer with a little more force than necessary and turns his gaze to the staircase, his eyebrows near to his hairline. “What’s up there?”

“My room.”

“Can I see it?” The sudden excitement catches him off guard. Daniil fiddles with his gloves. “You have a microscope, right? I’ve never used one. I know Rubin has one, but he won’t let me see it. Do you have slides? Can you show me something? Can you show me blood?”

“One question at a time,” Daniil says, huffing with amusement. Maybe this isn’t so bad. I was the same at his age. “I suppose you can come upstairs and see it, yes. I do have a few clean slides, yes, but I don’t have any samples lying around. I suppose I can come up with something, but…” he turns to look at Murky.

“She’ll be fine,” Sticky assures him. “It’s not like we’re going far, right?” He turns to his sister. “Murky, we’re going upstairs.”

She pauses in her drawing, looking at Sticky before her eyes turn away. “Do I have to come with you?”

“I don’t suppose you have to, no,” Daniil answers. “But if you need anything, you can come up and get us, alright, dear?” She doesn’t seem all that comfortable with the term, her mouth turning into a little scowl. She doesn’t answer, either, going back to her drawing as if no interruption had occurred.

Daniil leads Sticky up the stairs, listening to his babbling about the things he’s managed to glean from listening to Artemy and attempting to follow in his footsteps, from his discussions with Rubin when the man’s come to visit. Once they’re upstairs, he wanders around the room, picking up Daniil’s books and looking at them carefully, trying to pronounce the words aloud to himself. Daniil takes his distraction as a time to prick himself for a blood sample, readying the slide and pulling the chair back out from the table.

He clears his throat, and Sticky spins around, nearly dropping the heavy tome in his hands. “You wanted to see a blood sample, yes?” Sticky nods, scrambling his way over to the desk. Daniil has to guide him in how to use the microscope, in how to get a clearer picture of what he’s looking at. And Sticky has plenty of questions for him about what he sees, about how blood works in the body, about cells and warmth and movement.

As he’s speaking, Daniil simply forgets to be nervous. It’s not all that different to lectures - and to have someone honestly listening to him is actually quite nice. He’s so engrossed in directing Sticky that he doesn’t notice when Murky joins them. When she speaks, it startles him. “Why do you have a bunch of grass in a jar?” Sticky stifles a laugh as Daniil nearly jumps, moving around to the bookshelf where Murky is on her toes, peering at a glass jar. “They’re not even the right herbs. You can’t make anything out of that.”

“It’s not all grass. Take a closer look.” Daniil takes the jar off the shelf and holds it out for her to better see it. He watches her squint, and directs his finger about halfway up the jar. “Do you see the eyes here? This is a conehead grasshopper.”

Her eyes widen. “You keep a bug in a jar?”

“Well, I’d like to get a terrarium eventually, but you don’t seem to have any in town. I’d have to order one from the Capital.” He pauses. People usually find his collection of insects strange, but Murky seems fascinated. “I have books on insects, if you would like to…” Can she read? “Take a look?” Murky nods, and Daniil takes the jar back, looking through the bookshelf for the guide he’d brought with him.

Sticky’s not particularly interested in the bugs, but he entertains himself looking through Daniil’s medical textbooks while Daniil reads passages off of the insects Murky points to. When Eva comes to get them for lunch, he has to agree to bring the book downstairs with him to get her to go.

“Dad won’t let me keep bugs,” she mumbles around her food. “Says they don’t belong in the house.”

“My mother felt the same,” Daniil tells her. It feels strange to admit it, when it’s been so long since he’s spoken of his parents to anybody. Murky turns the pages of his field guide very carefully, silent as Sticky speaks up to ask him more questions about blood flow and circulation.

Now that he’s found ways of connecting with the kids, communication isn’t nearly as difficult as he’d thought it would be. He feels a little silly for winding himself up the way he had this morning - and these are Artemy’s kids, why had he imagined they’d be such a handful? Sure, they’re precocious, but not any worse than the other children in town.

They’ve just made their way back into the main room when the door to the Stillwater opens and Artemy appears. He looks exhausted, and Daniil can’t help but feel a twinge of guilt. He knows what dealing with the Stamatins can be like, especially given how poorly Peter takes care of himself. He can’t begin to imagine what took Artemy so long, but things must have been pretty bad if it took him such a long time.

Artemy offers Daniil a small smile. “Thanks for looking after them, emshen.”

“It was my pleasure,” Daniil says, and he finds that for once it’s not simply a nicety. “They’re wonderful children, Artemy. Clearly you’re doing a fantastic job in raising them.”

“Truth be told, they raised themselves.” His smile is fond, turning from Daniil to his kids. “You guys ready to go?”

Murky looks up from her drawing - a new one, an attempt to freehand an illustration of a phasmid from Daniil’s field guide. She still has a slight frown on her face as she looks up at her father. “Now? Bachelor was going to show me how to catch insects with a net,” she tells him.

Artemy looks back at Daniil with some surprise on his face. Daniil can feel himself flushing as he tries to look anywhere but at Artemy. “Why don’t you come another day, Murky? It’ll give me time to get a second net.”

“I’ll be ready to go in a minute,” Sticky pipes up. “I just gotta finish -”

“Oh, you can borrow the book,” Daniil says, waving his hand. “Don’t mind the markings I left in it from school. And if you have any questions, well - you know where to find me.”

Otome Villainess Manga Recs

So recently I just discovered the gem that is the sub-genre otome villainess of the isekai genre. Normally, I hate isekai with a burning passion, but this sub-genre has changed that for me. It’s a normal isekai, but this time a chick got reincarnated as a villainess doomed to a bad end (usually involves death) in a generic otome game, and has to wiggle her ass out by any way possible. I’m gonna recommend some since there isn’t much activity here for a while now. But beware though, they’re isekai so originality is pretty much non-existent, and don’t bother to read the entire title.

1. I'm a Villainous Daughter, so I'm going to keep the Last Boss

(aka Villainous Daughter)

This one is the first and best manga I’ve seen of this sub-genre. Words can’t describe how much I love the protagonist, Irene. She ain't fuck with nobody and has balls of steel. As the antagonist, she doesn't get much support and mainly relies on her wit and intelligence. It’s interesting to watch the protagonist using their wit to gain allies, and intelligence to strategize their way towards a goal. To me personally, Irene is terribly fucking relatable. I nearly teared up for her at chapter 1.

It’s mainly a romance/comedy manga, and it’s been years since I last saw a good romance anime/manga (because most of them are cliché). The romance feels refreshing because the main ship generally communicates well, and the comedic timing is on point. The plot is presenting a good conflict right now, because the antagonists are more threatening than just being plain assholes. It currently has 8 chapters. Worth checking out.

2. Common Sense of a Duke’s Daughter

(aka Common Sense)

If you like something more serious, then this one probably suits your taste. It’s similar to Villainous Daughter, except the protagonist, Iris, has probably evaded her bad end for good and got sent to a fief as its lord. The manga hence contains a lot of textbook knowledge of economics. The vibes are more serious/mature than Villainous Daughter’s shenanigan vibes, and the romance is developed gradually, so it fits anyone who likes a slow-paced story. It currently has 47 chapters plus tons, tons of extra chapters. I haven’t read much of it to have anything to say for now.

3. The Villainess Wants to Marry a Commoner!!

(aka Marry Commoner)

This one is quite the opposite. The protagonist knows she’s a villainess years before the game campaign begins, but there isn’t much planning or scheming to evade the bad end, rather she’s just enjoying her life as of now. She decides to just avoid the heroine and her capture targets, and spend time with her love interest instead. The love interest is giving me some suspicious vibes though. Marry Commoner is great if you want something more laid-back. Currently has 5 chapters.

4. Of course, I'll claim Palimony!

(aka Palimony)

My second favourite in this list. This isn’t an isekai, but rather the protagonist, Yulia, is selling a prophetic manga that portrays her as the villainess. Yulia is a businesswoman who fucking loves money. That’s a love I can feel from the bottom of my heart. She doesn’t give a shit about her (ex)fiancé and the heroine because they’re braindead morons. Palimony is mainly about Yulia developing her business while the writer of the prophetic manga tries to set her up with a prince. Yulia just lets her do it because she doesn’t give two fucks about romance either. I like the topic of business and money a lot, so I’ll stick around. It currently has 5 chapters.

5. I Reincarnated into an Otome Game as a Villainess With Only Destruction Flags

(aka Bakarina)

Bakarina is similar to Marry Commoner where the protagonist, Katarina, realizes that she’s a villainess at an early age, years before the campaign begins. It gives her a strong head start and she uses it to work hard and make friends with the game characters. The manga basically runs on the power of friendship as Katarina solves every problem by making more friends. I got a little disappointed because this power is overused, especially towards the end. But overall, Bakarina is pretty strong. Currently has 21 chapters plus extras, and it’s up to what seems like the beginning of the final arc right now.

6. Fiancée's Observation Log of the Self-proclaimed Villainess

(aka Observation Log)

Something like Bakarina, but instead of trying to avoid the bad end, the protagonist, Bertia, hits the gas pedal and rams head first into it. She knows she’s the villainess and completely insists on following the game’s script, setting her fiancé up with the heroine. Like Katarina in Bakarina, she has also made friends with the game characters (but accidentally), and even though she claims to be evil, her friends love and want to protect her. Currently has 14 chapters.

That’s all. Enjoy.

What if Clara was a midwife?

“The midwife is a relic of barbarism. In civilized countries the midwife is wrong, has always been wrong. The greatest bar to human progress has been compromise, and the midwife demands a compromise between right and wrong. All admit that the midwife is wrong.” - Dr Joseph DeLee, 1915 being completely wrong. 

Listen, I love Clara so much. She’s so weird, and everybody kind of hates her, and her weird double is so trippy, and I adore her sass. And everyone knows that Ice Pick Lodge didn’t quite have enough time/resources to shore up her route in Pathologic 1. And I just keep thinking: I do love Clara as she is, but imagine if she was a adolescent midwife, instead of a weird healer child! Imagine how much more thematically cohesive everything would be!

Clara’s story route is all about how old and new CAN coexist together, but it requires maintained, thoughtful sacrifice, to create that peace. That essence of sacrifice is what every midwife goes through all the times. What can pragmatically be sacrificed? Whose life is more important? How do you deal with the tensions and demands of the old and the new, and who bears the knowledge of that sacrifice? Clara facilitating the birth of something new in the the Town-upon-Gorkhon just becomes so much more interesting with her as a midwife, instead of a saviour figure. 

I also think it would lead better into the idea of doctors who aren’t really seen as doctors solving this plague best. Artemy’s steppe knowledge and Clara’s midwife knowledge would have equally been seen as complete nonsense by people like Daniil, who don’t understand the importance behind those kinds of cures, and the sorts of relationships that have to be maintained for it. 

And why the age-up? I think it just works so much better! Part of being an adolescent negotiating your future and the rest of your life, is that constant diplomacy and sacrifice between old and new. I think it also allows for Clara to have really interesting relationships with the rest of the town’s leadership, because of how being a teenager is such a transition phase.

So imagine with me, if you will, a new Clara and a new route. 

Clara isn’t actually an outsider to the town in this version: she’s Katerina’s bastard daughter. Everybody knows the her secret identity, but she doesn’t really live with the Saburovs anyway, she has her own place, a small but well-maintained house to do her work out of. 

Alexander still trusts Clara, but he resents her now, because she’s a reminder that the lack of children between he and Katerina is not a mutual thing, but specifically his own lack of potency. I bet that would make his ego really dented, and make him even more of an asshole. 

Clara still wakes up in a grave at the beginning of the story, but this time, it’s because she actually really died. When she walks around town, her reputation drops because the dead aren’t supposed to come back to life, and most people are horrified by your existence. 

Clara, upon initially coming back, is told by the Tragedians that she has to save people with her hands--she takes this to mean she continues doing her damn job. But to do that, she needs people to trust her again, and for that she needs Isidor’s approval. Too bad he’s dead now.

Sidenote: Clara’s midwifery job sometimes meant cutting the baby out of the mother. But she can’t legally cut flesh out of anybody, so she’d call Isidor up. She never much liked his necessity, but she and him got along fairly well.

But some of the Kin say that Artemy is a menkhu like his father, so maybe she should run after him to re-establish herself? Too bad Alexander is convinced he killed Isidor, and has already killed three people in town already. Alexander’s death warrant for him means he’s already gone into hiding. She can’t convince him to change his mind about Artemy 

Katerina doesn’t trust Clara anymore: she says her real daughter is dead, and that Clara is here as a horrible monster to lead her and the town astray. She wonders if this is the morphine addling her mind, but then she meets the Rat Prophet and everything makes sense. Also it’s implied the doppleganger is coming around whenever Clara’s not there to intimidate Katerina. 

When Clara goes to sleep, exhausted, confused, and nowhere closer to regaining her job or position in the town, she realizes she’s inherited the visions which she couldn’t see before she died. She’s a Mistress now. 

Capella, who used to be her friend, and Maria with whom she used to be amicable, are unimpressed, and don’t believe in her visions too much. They’re all arguing about the role of the Mistresses in town, and now Klara’s joining the midst, it’s becoming uncomfortable. Klara’s task is to try and convince them of her own validity and her own importance to the future of the town. Capella, especially, is easier to convince, but the weird friendship that used to exist before Clara’s death, is very tenuous, and Artemy can easily fuck it up. 

Speaking of Artemy, when Clara does eventually find him, he’s not actually a menkhu yet, so he’s completely useless on that front. But also, the Plague is happening, and he’s useful there, and he’s getting the trust of his father’s people. You get him to vouch for you, and it temporarily helps, but most people are still too freaked out by you. Clara and Artemy still don’t get along, though, Artemy’s way too condescending of Clara and they bristle against each other, uneasily. 

Daniil, on the other hand, is actually impressed by Clara when they first encounter each other. After all, beating death was the dream, and Clara did it! But Clara doesn’t like how he talks about her work, and also has no idea how she survived her brush with death, so the initial interest fades off, quickly. Daniil and Clara are still prickly with each other, but the threats of violence are less frequent, because a teenaged girl is harder to threaten to spank.  

Notkin, who Clara also used to be friends with, now thinks she’s just a half soul. He’s impressed by that, though, not scared, and all of his kids trade with her. But the Soul and a Halves generally insult Clara before doing anything.  

Khan’s Doghead clan respect Clara, because of her survival, but Khan maintains that the Polyhedron rejects her because she’s too old. Cara can prove him wrong by seeing all of the beautiful mirages of the Polyedron, but also telling him they’re all lies. This can make Khan made and lock off the Polyhedron, but the dogheads will still trade. 

Grace is probably Clara’s only real friend, and even she is being intimidated by Clara’s double. Grace is very convinced by her ability to speak to the dead, and Clara believes her, but also believes it’s dangerous. 

Clara and Andrei almost throw hands on the regular, one, because he thinks she’s presumptuous and very creepy towards her brother, but two, because she also stopped a lot of Herb Brides from coming to Andrei’s establishment, because they were all getting thrush from the twyrine. 

Clara still gets the daily missions to go and verify whether people are responsible for the plague, but this time, it’s because Alexander believes that Clara has inroads with all of them, because of previous midwifey encounters with them. This is true, but most of them don’t trust Clara anymore, so she has to do a bunch of errands around town to improve her reputation and prove she remembers her midwife skills. This can be helped by visions, or by rumours. Soon, Clara starts to build a lot of reputation amongst drunks and believers of her magical miracles (mst of the violent miracles done by her doppleganger) 

Clara’s double is still around, and is still the manifestation of the plague. At several points, people will suggest that Clara’s reincarnation is why the plague is happening and it’s uncertain if this is true or not. A lot of Clara’s missions are finding the double and asking her why she’s doing what she’s doing. 

Her relationship to Bounds, I think, would also be a way to explore their sins more. I think for a mature game, Pathologic doesn’t often discuss the relationships of sex and love to death very much, and I think there are some complex things to say about love, and children, and “sin” that could be really explored through a route with a midwife main character, who’s supposed to be investigating the sins and crimes of Anna, Yulia, Lara, Grief, Oyun, Big Vlad, Rubin and the Saburovs. I think dealing compassionately with the ideas of cheating, STDs, abortions and all the stuff around sexual health/freedom of women that nobody really wants to talk about could be an interesting way of how Clara reconciles the old and the new: by revealing secrets and letting them not be foul anymore. 

The Third Maximoff Chapter 7

Summary: What if the Avengers didn’t find the last HYDRA base? What if Pietro and Wanda weren’t the only enhanced? Or Maximoff’s? What if the Avengers were going to take on their greatest challenge yet? What if she was a 13-year-old girl who had to live with them? What if she once tried to kill Clint and Nat, and nobody knew but them?

Warnings: Mentions of Violence, Slight mentions Torture and Swearing, Teenagers being catty

“Yes. Is it not the American system?”

“No it is but I know the owner and she’ll extend you and most of the girls either come from rich families who could afford to by the school or backgrounds closer to yours,” She said trying to explain something simple to me even though she now knew my IQ, “The owner is my childhood best friend and my aunts ex’s daughter.”

“That sounds great Sharron. Me, Nat and Yulia are going to go have a fashion show in our room,” Wanda told her fed up of her attitude even though she was too kind to just say, ‘Shut up Sharron’, I know she wanted to.

“Why do girls schools always smell of roses and vanilla?”

“It’s the law,” Natasha retorted to my complaint with her trademark smirch. “But you have to get used to it.”

“I’m used to the smell of dangerous chemicals & sweat,” I say in response earning a concerned look from the rest of our group especially Steve.

“Well moving one you’ll have your own room as most of our girls have no clue the sort of shit you went through happens in this day and age. Your room is also equipped with a panic button in case you need it. And the school has a home you can use that’s not traceable by the government. And this room used to be Nat’s when this was the Avengers tower. We also still have the same security system so you’re completely safe.” Brooklyn, the headmistress, told us on our tour of my future home.

“Well this is where we leave you Yulia,” Steve said looking even more exhausted than any man should.

“Promise you’ll call, write or let me know you’re alive and doing OK. OK?” Wanda fretted, she’d stepped up to her role of a protective big sister since Paris and her seeing the ring when I decided to show it to her.

“I will and promise me you and Nat will stay safe because you’re both my sisters now. Nat, you’re apart of this family because we’ve all lost so much and you and I share a bond through HYDRA,” I respond crying as I ran up and hugged them taking Nat by surprise and Wanda just fell apart as well.

“What no love for uncle Buck or uncle Sam?” Bucky asked while Steve stayed quiet behind him, too deep in his own thoughts to notice anything going on around him and Sharron and Brooklyn were deep in conversation.

“You helped train me to murder and as for him, he helped make Rumlow the boss of where I grew up. Also, I only give hugs to my family and as of now I don’t consider you family.”

“That’s just cold,” Sam deadpanned.

I just rolled my eyes and said in a very monotone voice and Russian, “Bite me.”

“Remember your cover Yulia,” Natasha said making intense eye contact.

“My name’s Gwen Stacey. I’m from England. My godfather is a man called Rhodey. I don’t have abilities. My wings are because of the inhuman thing. The reason I have my own room is because there’s an odd number of girls so I can’t have a roommate. I am an only child. My cousin is called Peter Parker. I can speak French and English nothing else. I have anxiety. I don’t care about the avengers. I am pro-inhuman but only have wings and can’t hurt anyone and no, I will not fly anyone around the city,” I recite the file she had handed me just 3 hours ago in hopes that they could protect me by not using any of my real information.

“Very good but you forgot something. You have an older step-sister called Jemma and General Talbot is your uncle.”

“That makes me even more fun,” I responded, sarcasm like venom on my tongue.

“Well,” Brooklyn clapped her hands together trying to disperse the storm clouds that seemed to have formed between the group I was now apart of, “the girls are going to be back soon so I’ll help you unpack your stuff then I’ll introduce you to your student guides who will probably take you out tonight.” As I raised my eyebrow at the words take you out she seemed to realise her mistake. “I meant to a party or a dinner to see the city, not in the way I guess you’re used to.”

After a very short 5 minutes of unpacking, after a long 20 minutes of tear-filled goodbyes and banter between me, Sam and Bucky I braced myself for teenage girls and all that came with them.

“Gwen these are your student guides and allocated friends, Kate, Benaetha and Cindy. Girls this is Gwen, Gwen Stacey she’s our new student please treat her kindly and let her join in your group,” Brooklyn said as she started toward the big mahogany doors of her office before turning around and saying, “Oh! And please don’t ask about her wings, she’ll tell you if she wants.”

“OK! I know she said not to ask about your wings, but can I just say they’re beautiful, and ask if they’re from the whole Inhumans debacle we’ve been facing?” Kate asks, she was stunning like a goddess sent to earth. Her dark brown hair reached just past her shoulders, her skin was definitely kissed by the gods, she was skinny but also had curves and wore her uniform with pride.

“Yeah. And can I ask you something, do I have to call you Benaetha or can I call you Ben or Benny?” I responded.

“Sure, Ben or Benny is fine, everyone calls me Ben anyway,” Benaetha responded. She too was gorgeous, long blonde hair that I guessed would finish around her waist, but was currently in a ponytail, her blue eyes a striking contrast to that of her friends’ brown ones.

“So, do you like parties?” The third and final one, Cindy, asked. she too had a shorter hair than the blonde but hers was as dark as the night sky in the middle of the ocean on a cloudy night, her brown eyes were tinged with green making them become kaleidoscopic to look at, but her glasses stopped them from being to mesmerising.

“Not really, I grew up in a strict English boarding school the closest thing to a party was when it was someone’s birthday,” I respond weary of these girls already because I could sense that they could become more. Become like me.

“Well, you’re coming to a midtown party with us. It’s at this guy called Flash’s house, he’s a dick. But a dick that knows how to party,” Kate said before continuing, “I have to leave you in the very capable hands of Cindy because I have archery practice and Ben here has to meet up with her older sister.”

“I have to do some experiments in the lab if you want to join, you seem like the type to enjoy science,” Cindy offered.

“I’d love to and maybe you can tell me more about this Flash and party. Because I really don’t like crowded places.”

“Oh! I know a midtown student you’d get along with if you like art and human rights,” Ben said as she and Kate walked away.

“Yes, how’d you know?”

“Your shirt gave it away,” Kate said turning around to wave to Cindy and I guess me.

“Science?” I asked after a couple moments of awkward silence.

“Science!” She shouted back taking my hand and dragging me in the opposite direction her friends had taken.

When we made it to the science lab Cindy introduced me to the science teacher and showed me how to set up the experiment they were going to do. It was simple but still fun. It was precipitates. Though going with her did get me extra credit which I enjoyed, it wasn’t the most challenging thing to ever happen it was fun seeing Cindy’s face light up when she got it right. 

She also introduced me to a junior called Jennifer who reminded me of someone Nat had talked about. But I didn’t say anything. Instead, I opted to watch most of the time only piping up when asked a question.

Afterward, me and Cindy went back to her and Kate’s room to meet back up with them while they told me what I should wear to the party, before deciding to just come to my room and help me pick out an outfit.

Tags: @hollandroos, @hollandarling

Monday, February 1, 2021

Coronavirus variants (NYT) U.S. health officials are waiting to see if more contagious coronavirus variants upend the country’s progress in its battle against the virus. Transmission seems to be slowing throughout the country, with the number of new average cases 40 percent lower on Jan. 29 than at the U.S. peak three weeks earlier. Variants threaten to send case rates to a new high if they take hold, as health officials have warned may be the case by March. Maryland and South Carolina identified their first cases of the variant from South Africa. A variant from Brazil was detected in Minnesota this week, and one from Britain has been detected in at least 30 states.

Lawmakers push mental health days for kids amid pandemic (AP) When she was growing up, Sophie Corroon struggled to get through a ballet class or soccer tryout without having an anxiety attack. The idea of going to sleepovers or being home alone left her feeling panicked. Corroon’s anxiety grew even more during high school in Salt Lake City, when the pressures of getting into college left her in tears at school or toiling for hours on assignments. Corroon, now 20, has struggled with her mental health since fourth grade, and she’s not alone. And now, the coronavirus pandemic has multiplied the pressures on kids--many have spent almost a year doing remote learning, isolated from their friends and classmates. The portion of children’s emergency-room visits related to mental health was 44% higher in 2020, compared with the year before. State lawmakers are increasingly seeking more support for kids. This year, legislation proposed in Utah and Arizona would add mental or behavioral health to the list of reasons students can be absent from class, similar to staying out with a physical illness. Similar laws have passed in Oregon, Maine, Colorado and Virginia in the past two years. Offering mental health days can help children and parents communicate and prevent struggling students from falling behind in school or ending up in crisis, said Debbie Plotnick, vice president of the nonprofit advocacy group Mental Health America.

Busy month for Biden (NYT) February will test President Biden. The most daunting challenge will be balancing his stated desire for bipartisanship with his sense of urgency as he wrestles with contentious legislative negotiations over his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, a slow confirmation process for the rest of his senior team and the Senate impeachment trial of his predecessor.

It’s cold outside (NYT) The polar vortex is back, and wow, is it cold. Bitterly frigid air is hitting the Northeast (in some areas dropping well below zero), and snowstorms are expected along the I-95 corridor from Washington to Boston on Monday and Tuesday. The disturbances in the upper-atmosphere phenomena that can send icy blasts from the Arctic have persisted for an unusually long time this year, and climate change appears to be part of the mix. “The motto for snowstorms in the era of climate change could be ‘go big or go home!’” one climatologist said.

German military to send medical staff and equipment to Portugal (Reuters) any’s military will send medical staff and equipment to Portugal, where space in hospital intensive care units is running out after a surge in coronavirus infections, the defence ministry in Berlin said on Sunday. Portugal, which said on Saturday that only seven of 850 ICU beds set up for COVID-19 cases on its mainland were vacant, had asked the German government for help. Portugal, which has reported 12,179 COVID-19 deaths and 711,018 cases, has the world’s highest seven-day rolling average of cases and deaths per capita. German magazine Spiegel said the military planned to send 27 doctors and paramedics to Portugal who were initially supposed to remain there for three weeks, as well as stationary and mobile ventilators and field beds for patients.

Pope institutes Catholic day to honour the elderly (Reuters) Pope Francis on Sunday instituted a “World day for Grandparents and the Elderly” in the Roman Catholic Church to be marked once a year to honour them and to underscore their importance to society. Francis, making the surprise announcement at his Sunday noon address, said it would be marked on the fourth Sunday of July each year in Catholic communities around the world. Francis, 84, has often called on society to cherish the elderly as a source of wisdom and experience and he has lamented a “throwaway culture” that puts them aside because they are no longer productive.

Russia cracks down on Sunday protests, locking down city centers and arresting over 4,000 (Washington Post) The Kremlin responded to a second straight weekend of protests with a violent crackdown, a show of Moscow’s unease at the growing unrest triggered by the treatment of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. A week after tens of thousands of Russians participated in demonstrations in more than 100 cities throughout the country, authorities moved to stem this weekend’s rallies before they even got going, using even rougher tactics than before. But thousands came out despite the threat of arrest--the turnout in some Russian cities was estimated to be higher than a week ago--boosting the opposition’s hope of a sustained movement. Just hours after the protests began in Russia’s two largest cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, the monitoring group, OVD-Info, reported that more than 4,000 people had been detained--including Navalny’s wife Yulia--throughout the country.

Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders arrested, military takes control (Reuters) Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior figures from the ruling party have been detained in an early morning raid, the spokesman for the governing National League for Democracy said on Monday. The move came after days of escalating tension between the civilian government and the powerful military that stirred fears of a coup in the aftermath of an election the army says was fraudulent. Phone lines to Naypyitaw, the capital, were not reachable in the early hours of Monday. Parliament had been due to start sitting there on Monday after a November election the NLD had won in a landslide. State-run MRTV television said in a Facebook post that it was unable to broadcast due to technical issues. Myanmar’s military had said on Saturday it would protect and abide by the constitution and act according to law after comments earlier in the week had raised fears of a coup. Myanmar’s election commission has rejected the military’s allegations of vote fraud, saying there were no errors big enough to affect the credibility of the vote.

WHO teams visits Wuhan food market in search of virus clues (AP) A World Health Organization team looking into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic on Sunday visited the seafood market in the Chinese city of Wuhan that was linked to many early infections. Earlier in the day, the team members were also seen walking through sections of the Baishazhou market--one of the largest wet markets in Wuhan--surrounded by a large entourage of Chinese officials and representatives. The market was the food distribution center for Wuhan during the city’s 76-day lockdown last year. The mission has become politically charged, as China seeks to avoid blame for alleged missteps in its early response to the outbreak. A single visit by scientists is unlikely to confirm the virus’s origins. Pinning down an outbreak’s animal reservoir is typically an exhaustive endeavor that takes years of research including taking animal samples, genetic analysis and epidemiological studies. One possibility is that a wildlife poacher might have passed the virus to traders who carried it to Wuhan. The Chinese government has promoted theories, with little evidence, that the outbreak might have started with imports of frozen seafood tainted with the virus, a notion roundly rejected by international scientists and agencies.

Thousands flee Hong Kong for UK, fearing China crackdown (AP) Cindy had a comfortable lifestyle in Hong Kong: she owned several properties with her husband, they had a good business going. But last year she made up her mind to leave it all behind and move her family to Britain, and not even a global pandemic was going to sway her decision. “To uproot ourselves like this is definitely not easy. But things got uglier last year, the government was really driving us away,” said the businesswoman and mother of two young children who didn’t give her family name because she feared repercussions for speaking out against the Chinese government. “Everything we value--freedom of speech, fair elections, liberties--has been eroded. It’s no longer the Hong Kong we knew, it’s no longer somewhere we can call home.” Cindy, who landed in London last week, is one of thousands of Hong Kongers fleeing their hometown since Beijing imposed a draconian national security law on the territory last summer. Some are leaving because they fear punishment for supporting pro-democracy protests. But many others, like her, say China’s encroachment on their way of life and civil liberties has become unbearable, and they want to seek a better future for their children abroad. Most say they don’t plan to ever go back. Many firmed up their exit plans after Britain announced in July that it would open a special immigration pathway for up to 5 million eligible Hong Kongers to live, work and eventually settle in the U.K.

Thousands join in Jerusalem funeral, flout pandemic rules (AP) Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Israelis on Sunday thronged the funeral of a prominent rabbi in Jerusalem, flouting the country’s ban on large public gatherings during the pandemic. The funeral procession for Rabbi Meshulam Soloveitchik, who died at age 99, wended its way through the streets of Jerusalem in the latest display of ultra-Orthodox Israelis’ refusal to honor coronavirus restrictions. Police estimated that more than 10,000 people joined the procession and said they had issued dozens of tickets for failing to heed lockdown rules. Densely packed throngs of people gathered outside the rabbi’s home, ignoring restrictions on outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people. Many did not wear masks. Thousands of black-garbed ultra-Orthodox funeral-goers coursed past the city’s main entrance toward the cemetery where Soloveitchik was to be buried. A handful of police officers blocked intersections to traffic to allow participants to pass, but appeared to take no action to prevent the illegal assembly. Israeli media said Soloveitchik, a leading religious scholar who headed a number of well-known seminaries, had recently suffered from COVID-19.

Failing Is Your Good friend.

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This tale is specifically popular along with little ones, and often little ones compose a lot of the actors for Christmas participates in. They affirm the attacker and a 14-year-old child additionally allegedly engageded in the assault later made admissions to cops. Stress is from no perk to either the mum to become or her infant so to avoid this prepare early and afterwards enjoy this fantastic magic that is about to if this is your second, 3rd, fourth or even a lot more infant that is actually special whenever, equally as exclusive and definitely a magic. Procedures like the Shettles Strategy work with the guideline that Y chromosomes move a lot faster in comparison to X chromosomes consequently, the means to conceive a young boy is making sure the Y chromosome gets to the egg initially. The Xmas account does possess a greater context, consisting of the part of King Herod and his search for the foretold birth of a completing master. A press conference coming before the Pope's arrival highlighted the magic that paved the way for their canonization. It was a magic that the guy existed, he found the young boys, that the watercraft existed as well as untied, as well as the rope was in the boat. If you are commemorating a kid at that point there are some points that are worth mentioning and if you are actually hailing the girl, there are actually others that concern your focus. Perhaps our experts have to look past the Garden from Paradise to find just what boiled down the street after the magic of Adam and Eve. That also makes sure that the story is extensively said to along with the wanted spiritual notifications. Made in 1947, it has to do with Kris Kringle which is actually termed outrageous for assuming he is Santa clam Claus, when he really is. Having said that, after some fantastic performing and a fantastic tale all is actually repaired as well as Xmas can easily carry on. The power from a miraculous prayer may turbocharge the energy from an ordinary prayer and also turn this in to a miracle. This account utilizes the Wonder Kid to discover the spitefulness of younger boys, especially the three who strip him basic to view his scars. The little bit of kid was sick and also the only appropriate treatment for his incredibly unusual sickness was actually to become found in a health center in Germany. That is actually a very funny motion picture that truly has a lot from tiny laughs producing this ideal for that Christmas time little joy. The miracle from your child developing inside coming from month to month could quickly be neglected in the various challenges of taking care of a brand-new born and these photos will certainly be actually a tip of the wonderful opportunity. I was married to my husband George Morgan, i enjoy him a great deal our experts have been wed for 5 years right now along with two youngsters. Your ability to breath, the continuous basics from your breathing spell is actually a remarkable suggestion that you are actually a wonder simply inhaling life as you recognize it. The little bit of young boy spent 13 days on life help in John Radcliffe Medical facility in Oxford just before being transmitted to Nottingham Youngster's Hospital for specialist procedure. All of us need to start respecting one another, without that percentage of regard, he will never ever have made the effort to enjoy me and also without that percentage of respect, our team will definitely certainly never see a miracle repeat. Conceiving a baby young boy might crank up to become a typical result however there is something that can be carried out to improve the probability of getting a kid. We would sing Xmas carols and papa will review the Christmas time story off the Holy Bible. He after that worked in repertory theater, off-Broadway as well as guided 2 of his own theatre providers, amassing dozens from tv and also flick credit scores. The account is actually of a tiny woman who heads to a park as well as makes up a friendly relationship along with an additional tiny girl. The following infant names are actually not only distinct, yet they have special significances ideal for your wonder infant. Permit me repeat that: After reading this post as well as having action you are actually going to get your girlfriend or young boy pal back. Without a doubt, Miracle Young boy is actually comprised of numerous such seconds, if only to employ muteness as a reprieve off a pervasive strain that affects every webpage. I will definitely begin my effectiveness account through presenting on my own to the whole planet as well as were i am from. Yulia Berry is an independent health scientist and also writer from the most effective selling e-books Aloe - Your Wonder Physician and Drug store in Veggies. That will be actually a magic to tape as well as create 5 new songs by then - particularly beginning with zero - as well as definitely after exhausting on my own having actually only finished my 4th album, The Healing Song. Child acquires lost in major city as well as winds up acquiring implicated in trouble with 2 burglars. Telling your youngster a story of the nature doesn't just abridge the physical facts related to menstrual cycle. A romance account took place in between a gal and a young boy which each suffer from Asperger's Disorder, a light situation from autism. A blood-like substance was actually trickled off the roses over the slabs, however the little bit of kid still possessed cancer cells. Even though i heard you say to the Friend story on stage a married couple years ago- i had to read through. Guys will no hesitation series up for the magic elixir if that was effortless to locate as well as recover the wounded kid lost within and also to address the rage. There have additionally been numerous urban legends that describe how to conceive a boy and also a lot of women are going to speak well of these pointers. Therefore if you want to know effective ways to have a little one child that is actually partially a concern of eating foods that will alkalize your body system. This motif is excellent and produces a lightweight environment and some very strange labels If you cherished this article and you simply would like to receive more info pertaining to mountains in scotland skiing (http://melhorsaude1.es/varikosette) generously visit the website. .